


Campfire Stories

by Meticulous_Melodies



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Genre: Camping, Gen, Humor, One Shot, Urban Legends, shikasara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 23:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30046692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meticulous_Melodies/pseuds/Meticulous_Melodies
Summary: The Genin go on a camping trip and Boruto comes up with a way to keep things interesting. (ShikaSara leaning)
Kudos: 3





	Campfire Stories

_Campfire Stories_

The day of the annual Genin campout had arrived – a three-day excursion into the woods surrounding the Leaf village designed to encourage bonding, exploration, and survival skills. While it was recommended that the Genin stick with their assigned squads and mingle with others, the suggestion was always largely ignored in favor of hanging out with friends. For this reason, Boruto, Shikadai, and Mitsuki were walking through the woods together trying to find a nice clearing to set up camp, chatting about the "guys only trip" they had planned over the next few days.

"It's this way," Boruto instructed his friends, taking on the role of leader. He had been out scoping the area a few days prior for the perfect spot and had managed to find a small but cozy clearing near a stream jumping with fish. It was perfect. They could fish, train, and hang out without ever having to leave their spot. "Hurry up, before someone else finds it!"

He picked up his pace and his friends followed closely behind, Shikadai taking up the rear and muttering about what a drag the whole thing was. He hated camping.

Boruto burst through the thicket of trees and came to a skidding stop on the soft grass. His face fell as he nearly collided straight into Sarada, who stood in the middle of the clearing with her hands on her hips, giving her childhood friend an incredulous look. Behind her, Chocho and Sumire exchanged a glance.

"What are you doing here, Boruto?" Sarada pushed her glasses up and gave him the infamous Uchiha glare.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Boruto shot back, regaining his stance. "This is our spot!"

"I don't see your name on it," Chocho said coolly.

Shikadai rolled his eyes, already turning away from the conflict. "Come on, let's find another spot."

"No way!" Boruto cried. "I found it first and this is the perfect spot."

"That's why we're here," Sarada informed him simply. "We found this spot, and this is where we're camping."

"I just said I found it first! I scouted this place out days ago," Boruto complained. He looked back to his friends for help, but Shikadai and Mitsuki were suddenly fascinated by the scenery around them.

"Uh-uh, that's not how it works," Chocho said, removing a bag of chips from her backpack. "You have to call it on the day it's happening, or it doesn't count."

"Says who?" Boruto protested, fists clenching at his sides.

"Says us," Sarada replied, crossing her arms. "This is our spot. Go somewhere else."

"I'm not going anywhere!" Boruto spat. Once again, he glanced back at his friends to find them inching away.

Unable to hold back any longer, Sumire, always the conflict-resolver, held up her hands and offered a smile. "Hey, why don't we share the space? There's enough room for all of our tents."

"No way, this is supposed to be a guy's trip!" Boruto said at the same time Mitsuki said, "Sure, we can share."

Boruto stared at him with a look of utmost betrayal. Before he could say anything, Shikadai brushed past him and set his bag down. "If it means we can quit walking around and relax, I'm all for it."

Mitsuki nodded and stepped into the clearing to set his bag down as well.

Boruto sputtered, seeing that he was in the minority. "F-fine," he managed, "but you girls stay on your side." He pointed to the opposite side of the clearing, narrowing his eyes.

Sarada exchanged glances with Chocho and Sumire, who both shrugged. "Whatever."

After the tents were set up, the girls and boys stayed out of each other's way as promised. The boys took to the stream for some fishing while the girls went into the woods to gather kindling for a fire. As sunset approached, both sides realized one major flaw with their plan to share: there was only enough room in the clearing to have one fire safely.

"I guess we have to share after all," Sarada commented, as nonchalant as ever. She had already put the kindling together in the middle of the clearing. All she had to do was light it.

"I'll share some of my chips if we can roast some of your fish," Chocho offered sweetly, eyeing the bucketful of river fish the boys had caught.

Boruto opened his mouth to protest once more but was stopped when Mitsuki placed a hand on his shoulder. "Might as well. We caught more than we can possibly eat, anyway."

After Boruto begrudgingly agreed to the trade, the six Genin sat around the blazing fire as the sun dipped below the trees. Tendrils of smoke rose lazily into the air, carrying the smell of roasted fish with it. It was an unusual dinner combination – roasted fish and consommé flavored chips – but the flavors went surprisingly well together. For a while, the girls and boys spoke only amongst themselves, but as full dark settled in around them, an idea struck Boruto.

"Hey," he said, catching the attention of both parties. "Have you guys heard about that woman?"

"What woman?" Chocho asked through a mouthful of chips.

"You know, the one who walks around at night wearing that mask," Boruto said as though it were common knowledge. "She's really beautiful. I actually saw her the other night."

"I've never heard of such a woman," Mitsuki said, watching Boruto with wide eyes.

Shikadai eyed his friend levelly, wondering what he was playing at.

"She's there," Boruto insisted, leaning towards the fire, and allowing the light from the flames to reflect in his eyes. "Lots of guys have seen her. Her hair is really long, and her skin is totally pale. She wears this white dress."

"And you've seen this woman?" Sarada sounded as if she didn't believe a word of it.

Boruto nodded, relishing in the way he was managing to catch everyone's attention. "I heard about her from some of the other guys. She walks up to you asks if you think she's pretty. But you can't really tell. Because of the mask, you know?"

"And this woman asked you what you thought of her?" Mitsuki asked. His eyes were shining. Shikadai couldn't tell if he was really believing the nonsense or just stringing the blond along.

"Of course, you know," Boruto nodded. "But some of the other guys, they had warned me that they got some really bad vibes from this woman. They said if she asks, be really careful with your response."

Sumire wrinkled her brow, holding her fist her to her mouth. So…what did you say to her?"

"Well, I told her that I couldn't tell with her mask on, you know?"

"Did she show you her face?" Chocho asked cautiously.

Boruto gave a nod and leaned in even more. "She pulled her mask down and that's when I saw _it!"_ He began to speak rapidly for added effect, placing his fingers in the corners of his mouth, and stretching out his grin as far as it would go. "Her mouth was cut open all the way to her ears! Her grin was so horrifying all I could do was turn around and run!"

Sumire shrieked, burying her face in her hands. "No!"

"Boruto!" Sarada scolded, turning to comfort her friend.

"And then she chased right after me, you know," Boruto continued, on a roll. "She took out this giant pair of scissors and threated to cut my mouth open just like hers!"

"Would you shut up?" Shikadai scoffed and gave his friend a rap on the back on the head. "That story is ridiculous."

"Yeah, it's not even scary," Chocho added lazily. She popped another chip in her mouth. "I could totally do better."

"You think you could tell a better story?" Boruto challenged.

Sumire peaked out between her fingers. "It was just a story?"

"Of course it was." Sarada rolled her eyes.

Chocho ignored her friends and locked eyes with Boruto, lips curling into a confident smirk. "You see, a few years ago, a young couple went for a walk in these very woods. Too bad for them, because shortly after they left, the news broke out about a crazed killer who had escaped from prison.

"Anyway, once they were deep in the woods it suddenly got very dark and started to rain. They took shelter in this little cave to wait out the storm. It was cold so the guy decided to see if he could find some dry wood they could burn for warmth. He went out of the cave and left his little girlfriend all alone."

Sumire gulped, gripping Sarada's hand hard as she listened to her friend's story. Even the guys were leaning forward and watching Chocho intently.

"The rain stopped a few hours later, but the boyfriend still didn't come back," Chocho continued. Her eyes darted to each of her friend's faces and a wicked grin spread across her chubby cheeks. "All the girlfriend could hear was the _drip, drip, drip_ of the rainwater falling off the leaves. She was really worried, naturally, so eventually she decided to leave the cave and look for her boyfriend. As soon as she stepped outside, she screamed."

"Why did she scream?" Sumire asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The evil grin never faded from Chocho's lips. "Because she found her boyfriend, throat cut and hanging from a nearby tree. The dripping she heard was the sound of his blood splashing on the ground."

"Ew!" Sumire cried, her voice echoing into the trees.

"What kind of ending is that?" Boruto said, arms crossed.

"An ending that's actually scary," Chocho replied with a cool shrug.

"So, what, did the girl die too?" Shikadai asked in a bored voice.

Mitsuki nodded. "I too am curious about the fate of the girl."

Chocho wiggled her fingers in the air, dropping her voice low. "Nobody knows!"

Sarada sighed and patted Sumire's trembling back. "Can we stop this? It's not fun for everyone, you know."

"Wait." Mitsuki glanced between Sarada and Shikadai. "It seems you and Shikadai are unaffected by these stories. I would like to see if I can get a reaction out of you."

"You're not going to scare me," Shikadai scoffed.

Sarada nodded in agreement. "Plus, I think Sumire's had enough."

"Too bad," Boruto crossed his arms and smirked at his friend. "Let's see what Mitsuki's got."

"Thank you," Mitsuki replied pleasantly. He settled back into the grass and turned his gaze up at the night sky. "I came across this story in a book once."

"You're not supposed to say it's fake. You're supposed to make it sound real," Boruto interrupted. Sumire, however, seemed to relax a bit at the statement.

"My apologies." Mitsuki shook his head and tried again. "I heard this story from a friend."

"Too late for that," Boruto muttered under his breath.

"Have I messed everything up?" Mitsuki asked, his eyes wide.

"Just tell the story," Shikadai scoffed, impatient.

"All right, then." Mitsuki straightened and took a breath. "There was once a young woman who was staying home alone for the very first time. She was very nervous, you see, because she had never been by herself at night before. But she had her faithful dog with her to help her relax.

"Late that night, when she got into bed to go to sleep, she heard some strange noises around the house. This made her afraid because the noises were unfamiliar to her. She held her hand beneath her bed where the dog was resting and felt a reassuring lick. Feeling better, she fell right asleep.

"In the morning, however, the girl awoke to a terrible sight. Her beloved dog was missing and written on her bedroom wall in blood were the words _'Humans can lick too!'_ "

"Gross!" Sumire screeched.

Sarada wrinkled her nose and Chocho dropped one of her precious chips in a moment of shock.

"That's, uh, pretty disgusting, Mitsuki," Boruto ventured, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Mitsuki blinked and took in the faces of his audience. "Was that too far? I thought the shock factor was crucial to these stories."

"Yeah, but there's a limit, you know," Boruto said slowly.

"I need another story to clear that image out of my head," Chocho commented. She picked a new chip out of her bag and pointed it between Sarada, Sumire, and Shikadai. "Let's see…none of you have had a turn. Hmm…" She stopped her chip on the last remaining boy. "Shikadai?"

"Not interested," he said immediately.

Chocho sighed. "Fine. Sumire?"

Sumire shook her head rapidly, braids flying. "I can hardly stand listening to them!"

"Guess that leaves you, Sarada," Chocho shrugged.

"M-me?" Sarada paused, trying to wrack her brain for a good story – one that would really shock the pants off of everyone. Her mind, however, was a blank. She was analytical, not creative. She didn't read horror stories, and she certainly couldn't just pull a shocker out of thin air. But everyone was watching her. She had to come up with something. "Okay, so, there was this girl." She stopped herself and shook her head. The stories that night were much too focused on girls. "Wait, no, this boy. And he was…alone. In the woods. Wait, no, in his school. At night."

She paused and glanced around at her audience. They met her with raised brows. The faintest smirk played at Shikadai's lips.

With a sigh, Sarada dropped her head in defeat. "I'm no good at this."

"Aw, it's okay, Sarada." Chocho patted her back assuredly. "It's getting late anyway."

"Yeah, I am getting kind of tired," Boruto agreed with a shrug.

Sarada watched her friends get up, hiding a pout. The Uchiha may not have been one for telling stories, but she was a determined girl who had essentially just been issued a challenge. She refused to retreat to her tent until inspiration struck. While everyone else zipped their tents closed for a good night's sleep, Sarada stayed by the dying fire and pulled a notebook from her backpack.

For two hours, Sarada would begin to write and then quickly cross out her words. Everything she thought up sounded lame in her head, and all of the plot points she scribbled down seemed flimsy at best.

Sarada groaned as the full moon rose high over her head. The woods were quiet and still, the silence only broken by Chocho's soft snoring. She closed her eyes and tried to form a picture in her mind's eye. Something terrifying. Gruesome, but not too gruesome. Shocking, but not disgusting. But nothing came to her.

A rustling nearby caused eyes to fly open, and her hand immediately grappled for her shuriken. She stiffened as her eyes scanned the clearing and had to bite back laugher as Shikadai emerged from his tent.

"What are you doing awake?" she asked. Her shuriken fell back into her pack and she picked up her pen once more.

"I couldn't sleep," he said simply and raised a brow at her notebook. "Trying to come up with a story?"

"Yeah," she admitted reluctantly. "But I can't seem to think of anything good."

Shikadai sauntered over to her side, one hand in his pocket, and held out his other hand for the notebook. "Let me see."

Sarada grimaced but handed it over, figuring that if anything, he might be able to help her. She watched as he scanned the pages, even the crossed-out parts, looking for any signs of mockery on his face. Instead, he sat down beside her and pointed to one of her opening lines.

"This one is a good start."

Sarada sighed and glanced away. "Yeah, but I don't know where to go from there."

Shikadai nodded in understanding and leaned over to pick up a stick that had been rejected for kindling. He began to draw circles in the dirt as he spoke. "The way I see it, making up a story is like a game of shogi. You need a strong opener to get off on the right foot. Each move that's made after that leads towards the end of the game, but the way the game ends depends on the moves you make. There are an infinite number of ways to reach the end. You just have to choose the play that's the strongest."

Sarada watched as he connected the circles with lines, showing all of the different pathways that could be used to reach one. "I think I get what you're saying. A story can go in a hundred different directions from the starting point, but it's up to me to figure out how to connect the plot points together."

"All leading up to the big finish," Shikadai confirmed with a nod. "I think in this case, the best way to go is to figure out the beginning and the end, and then fill in the spaces in between."

"With the strongest plot points."

"Exactly." Shikadai smirked and looked at her notebook again, pointing out a few lines that had been crossed out. "I think we could work these in nicely."

Sarada raised a brow. "We?"

Shikadai faltered for a moment then quickly regained his cool. "I could help you, if you want."

A slow smile crept over Sarada's lips. "Yeah. I think together we could come up with something that'll really scare them."

Shikadai met her conspiring smile with one of his own and snatched the pen from her hand. "Let's get to work."

The next night, the six friends gathered around a fresh campfire eating more roasted fish and sharing Chocho's never-ending supply of potato chips. While they were all chatting amongst themselves, Sarada caught Shikadai's eye, and he gave a curt nod.

"Hey, Boruto, I think I might have a story to tell after all," Sarada said coolly.

Boruto's ears perked up and he broke into a grin. "Oh yeah? You really think you can scare us?"

"I'm sure of it," Sarada said with confidence. She stood and motioned to Shikadai, who also rose to his feet. "The two of us have come up with a story so terrifying I guarantee none of you will sleep tonight."

Mitsuki and Chocho exchanged a curious glance. Sumire gulped, but Boruto remained unimpressed.

"Do your worst, then," the blond challenged.

Sarada laughed and turned to her partner. "Ready, Shikadai?"

He nodded, cracking his knuckles in preparation, and together they told their tale:

" _It was a dark and stormy night…"_


End file.
